Greenfingers Annual ReviewJuly 2014 – July 2015

CREATING MAGICAL GARDENS FOR CHILDREN IN HOSPICES

As my third year as voluntary Chairman of Greenfingers draws to an end, I reflect proudly on all that has been achieved by such a small and committed team, both staff and volunteers. I think about all that I have learned personally about the incredible work being done, every day, by children’s hospices around the country, and why Greenfingers is so important in supporting the hospice movement through the creation of inspiring outside spaces. It is fair to say that I stand down as Chairman even more committed to our work

than when I first started, and am delighted to be staying on as Trustee and Chair of the Garden Experts Group as a way of staying involved in a cause that is now very close to my heart.

At Greenfingers we work closely with every hospice we support, to create for each one, a unique and inspiring outside space for children, families and staff to benefit from. We have worked collaboratively with loyal supporters to raise the funds needed, and we have carefully found the right design and build teams who can turn the children’s dreams for a safe garden into a reality. This past year has been very busy and I am thrilled to report that through the generous support of our fundraising donors and partners we have achieved our ambitious target for the Greenfingers ‘Rosy Cheeks’ appeal of £750,000. It is now time for me to hand the Chairman’s reigns over to John Ashley who has further exciting plans for the continued development of Greenfingers. I thank everyone who has been on this journey with me and the team, over the last few years great things have been achieved as a result of your support, please stay with us...

Thank you!

Matthew WilsonGreenfingers Voluntary Chairman July 2012 - July 2015Garden Designer, Writer & Broadcaster

A MESSAGE FROM MATTHEW WILSON

Greenfingers is a small national charity dedicated to supporting children who spend time in hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating inspiring gardens and outdoor spaces for them to benefit from. The charity creates beautiful, well-designed outdoor spaces for children to enjoy with family, friends and siblings, whether through play and fun, or therapeutic rest and relaxation. Through Greenfingers gardens we aim to take the “inside out” and create safe places outside for children to be cared for in the natural environment.

To date Greenfingers has planned and created 49 gardens and outdoor spaces in hospices around the country. The need is still great – there is a long waiting list of hospices that need our help now!

ABOUT GREENFINGERS

We launched the Greenfingers Rosy Cheeks appeal, our most ambitious appeal to date in Spring 2013. The appeal which set out to raise £750,000 over a two year period to create ten more gardens and outdoor spaces for children in hospices.

Two years on, as we close the appeal, we are delighted to report that we reached our fundraising target and have identified more than ten garden areas to be created as a direct result of this initiative.

• West Sussex - Designed by award winning designer Ann-Marie Powell and built by Garden House Design we project managed and delivered several wonderful woodland garden spaces at Chestnut Tree House in West Sussex. (Funding for this project came from the hospice via a Department of Health Grant, corporate support and an in memorium donation.)

• Essex - Designed and project managed by Matt Eden at Eden Horticulture we delivered two inspirational garden areas including an interactive ‘grow your own’ space and an all year/all weather big top garden therapies and story area at Little Havens Hospice in Essex.

• Yorkshire - Designed a very large scheme for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield to be completed in stages, funding permitting. First stage is completed as a large sensory garden which includes areas for: a bird hide as part of a wildlife observation area; a wildflower garden; a grassy viewing mound play area; a water feature involving a river bed with flowing water that wheelchairs can splash through; and a fully accessible wheelchair stone circle which will be used as a reading and therapies area.

THE ROSY CHEEKS APPEAL ENDS

“I was inspired by doing the design for the Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice, and I remain moved by the reality and difference this garden is making on a daily basis for the children and families who are enjoying it”Ann-Marie Powell

• Berkshire - We have raised the money to create a garden, still to be designed for the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice (ADCH) once the hospice is built – anticipated 2017.

• Additionally - We found a single funder to provide a large donation towards the landscaping costs for the new build of this hospice.

• Yorkshire - We will be going on site to create sympathetic garden areas outside the two bereavement suites at Bluebell Woods Children’s Hospice in Sheffield.

• Isle of Wight - We shall be going on site at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice in Newport to create a therapeutic children and family garden as a legacy from Matthew Wilson who has re-designed his Royal Bank of Canada show garden from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

PATRONS HOSTPLEDGE DINNER In February 2015 our patrons, the actors Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton OBE, hosted an exclusive fundraising pledge dinner at Clifton Nurseries in London. Guests enjoyed a five-course meal and heard anecdotes from Jim and Imelda’s glittering careers, whilst also finding out more about the work of Greenfingers.

“The Greenfingers Big Top garden has created a wonderful and exciting new space that children and families using the hospice can enjoy in so many different ways, including growing their own fruit and vegetables.”Kat Clark, Little Havens

In May 2015 Matthew Wilson designed The Royal Bank of Canada Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. The garden was designed to highlight water management and show home gardeners that low or no irrigation gardening is possible in an ordinary garden. Matthew’s garden was based around a series of curved beds, which represented the ebb and flow of water. It featured drought-tolerant and sun-loving trees, shrubs and flowers; a beautiful curved decked area; and a cascading water feature.

We are delighted to be relocating the garden to the Earl Mountbatten Hospice on the Isle of Wight.

Earl Mountbatten was chosen as the recipient of the garden in recognition of its work developing services for children and their families on the Island. Although the hospice has previously focused on adult hospice care, it is aiming to expand its offering to care for local children who need end of life care.

The garden has been redesigned by the team at Clifton Nurseries to make it suitable for the hospice environment and safe for children to use and enjoy. The relocation is starting in September 2015, and is being funded by donations together with a relocation grant from The Royal Bank of Canada.

It is our aim to potentially be involved in more Chelsea Flower Show garden relocations in the future – and thereby providing a lasting legacy for the show gardens in hospices around the country.

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW RELOCATION

“It means a huge amount to me personally that my Chelsea garden is relocating to Earl Mountbatten. It is a wonderful and fitting legacy for the garden and I can’t wait to see the finished garden in its new home.”Matthew Wilson

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“A new era for Greenfingers and an important challenge before us! We celebrate

the loyalty of the gardening and horticulture industry in its recognition of the value of our work, and we look forward to working with you on some new initiatives over the coming months as we strive to be creative, both in our approach to the gardens we create and the way we engage our supporters. Greenfingers gardens make a real difference to many families in hospices, every single day. Thank you!”Deborah Skillicorn, Charity Director

I’ve been involved with Greenfingers for many years and have watched it develop on a journey driven by the

increasing need that hospices have for our therapeutic gardens. We frequently hear from hospices how integral the gardens have become to their work to deliver all round care for children with life threatening conditions, and their families. It is this reality that drives us further in our commitment to bring to more children in hospices the precious gift of a Greenfingers garden.

As I take over from Matthew Wilson I thank him for his hard work resulting in the charity’s growth and development, and I am pleased that Matthew remains a Trustee and Chairman of the Garden Experts Group. We continue to move ahead with great enthusiasm and rigour to build the Greenfingers brand through the A Million Moments appeal to raise a further £1 million to enable more garden spaces in hospices to be created.

To achieve this we greatly value your continued support. On behalf of everyone at Greenfingers, and particularly the children and families we exist to support, thank you for helping us as we aim to reach at least 5,000 more children in hospices.

John Ashley, Voluntary Chairman (July 2015)

A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW CHAIRMAN

July 2015 saw the launch of our latest appeal – driven by the overwhelming need from children’s hospices around the country who have asked us for help.

The Greenfingers A Million Moments appeal aims to raise £1 million to enable us to bring the precious gift of a garden to at least 5,000 more children and families in hospices.

The appeal name comes from our commitment to providing children and families in hospices with precious shared moments together, outside, in carefully thought through inspiring garden spaces.

We are deeply aware of the benefits that access to gardens can bring to children whose daily lives may involve a high level of medical care.

We are launching this appeal at a time when we have a longer waiting list than ever of hospices in need of well-designed outdoor spaces for the children and families they care for. Many hospices have woefully inadequate outside areas – with the A Million Moments appeal we hope that at least 5,000 more children will benefit from spending time outdoors as a result of Greenfingers efforts, with an estimated 15 garden areas being created under the umbrella of the appeal.

Creating a million preciousmoments for children in

hospices…...a million moments appeal launch

“The gardens have helped to make the unimaginable bearable”Parent of a life limited child

IncomeDonations and Grants £ 456,802Gifts In Kind £ 14,080Total Funds Raised £ 470,882

ExpenditureCharitable Activities £ 441,713 *Costs re Generating Funding £ 33,052Managing the Fundraising £ 18,529Governance £ 6,740Total Expenditure £ 500,034

“Our outside space is asimportant as what goes oninside the hospice walls”

Hospice Head of Care

EACH - East Anglian Children’s Hospice, Ipswich• Shading and screening required to

enhance current Greenfingers sensory garden to enable more children to rest outside in their beds, throughout the seasons.

• The creation of a secluded woodland family therapy garden with a carefully designed private area for emotional expression including anger management and counselling.

Keech Children’s Hospice, Luton• The creation of a therapeutic interactive family social space with shading and lighting which will transform the existing and uninspiring concrete courtyard.

Helen and Douglas House Hospice, Oxford• The creation of a wheelchair accessible play area to incorporate hoist equipment for children with complex needs and bring shading, music, water and a Grow your Own activity into the garden.

Horizon House Children’s Hospice, Northern Ireland• To develop an inner courtyard garden to

enable children to come directly out of their bedrooms into a safe and secluded outside area throughout the seasons.

Naomi House Children’s Hospice, Winchester• To create vibrant wheelchair accessible interactive play areas for children and families to enjoy all year round.

St Andrew’s Children’s Hospice, Grimsby• Create a communal courtyard area as

an information hub giving families the opportunity to support each other.

EllenorLions Hospice, Dartford• Create an interactive family space

suitable for both younger and teenage children to have their own areas of interest outside in the fresh air - as part of the merging services between the children and adult hospices.

Robin House Children’s Hospice, Balloch• Create a private outside den for teenagers

to use as an ‘escape’ all year round.

Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, London• To create a vision for the gardens which will support multiple needs at this new build hospice.

Grace House Hospice, Sunderland• This hospice has broad needs which Greenfingers is currently reviewing including an area for playing in.

Hospices around the country are waiting for our help. Through the A Million Moments appeal we hope to create a number of garden spaces for hospices potentially including:

IncomeDonations and Grants £ 456,802Gifts In Kind £ 14,080Total Funds Raised £ 470,882

ExpenditureCharitable Activities £ 441,713 *Costs re Generating Funding £ 33,052Managing the Fundraising £ 18,529Governance £ 6,740Total Expenditure £ 500,034

* This figure is exceptionally high due to a large grant and donation of £190k secured by Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice for the development of their Woodland Walk garden. The garden project was totally self funded as a result of this budget and Greenfingers project managed the funding and the delivery of the project.

FACTS AND FIGURES

From January 1st to 31st December 2014 the charity had a total expenditure of £500,034 (2013 £261,656) out of which £441,713 (2013 £196,849) was spent on our charitable work designing, and building gardens for children’s hospices. Showing our costs for fundraising and managing the work of the charity at 12% and costs for gardens at 88%.

TRUSTEES AND GROUP MEMBERS

Voluntary Trustee BoardLed by John Ashley as Chairman (from July 2015); Matthew Wilson; Boyd Douglas-Davies; Caroline Owen; Peter Field; Paul Ormond; Carol Paris; Sally Whitaker.

Honorary MembersRichard Jackson (Founder & President); John Little; Chris Webb.

Vision Group (voluntary)Paul Ormond; Sally Whitaker; Tim Pye.

Fundraising & Communications Group (voluntary)Simon Quinton-Smith; Danny Adamson; Andy Bunker; Zoe Goodhand; Hilary Lopez; Barry Page;Jamieson Page; Trevor Pfeiffer.

Garden Expert Group (voluntary)Matthew Wilson; Ann-Marie Powell; Dawn Isaac; Clare Matthews; Lizzie Balmforth.

For further information about trustees and group members please visit www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk

Reg. Charity No. 1076640

Greenfingers Charity23 Gregories Road, BeaconsfieldBuckinghamshire, HP9 1HH

Tel: 01494 674749 Fax: 01494 730656Email: info@greenfingerscharity.org.uk

www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk

With thanks to Briers, the specialists in garden gloves and footwear, for sponsoring this annual review.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Greenfingers over the last year. Without the wonderful support we receive we couldn’t create these magical gardens for children with life-limiting and life- threatening conditions to enjoy.

@GreenfingersCha

www.facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity